Aquabike Season 2017

Aquabike - the multisport activity of swim and cycle - is a relatively new format but one that's growing quickly. This season, six Triathlon Ireland sanctioned races will host an aquabike event alongside triathlon races, giving swim-bike specialists or injury hit triathletes the change to show their raw power in swim-biking.

Guest author Peter Sweeney tells us more:

Aquabike - a swim and cycle - is a relatively new but quickly growing sport sanctioned and encouraged by the International Triathlon Union (ITU).

Those new to multi-sport, but don’t yet want to give a full triathlon, those coming back from injury and don’t want to run just yet or those who just want to keep fit and try something new are all getting involved in aquabike.

“The concept first grew in the US,” explained Triathlon Ireland President Lochlann Walsh. “Triathlon is a long-established sport in America with an older membership and they noticed that they were losing members in their late fifties and early sixties.

“It turns out that a lot of them were unable to run much any more due to ankle, knee and hip injuries. From that the conversation started and aquabike came about.

“Triathlon Ireland’s CEO Chris Kitchen is on the ITU’s Multi-Sport Committee and they sanctioned aquabike as a formal event.”

This is the third year that TI have been running aquabike races, with the growth in interest and numbers growing steadily from a small base. So far there are six events in the calendar this year with more expected to be added.

“We wouldn’t see this ever taking over from triathlon, but we do want to build it up to be a big part of our races and we hope in the future that most races will have an aquabike wave,” said Walsh.